With an increase in fines for fire code violations, many students may try harder to meet the Ames fire code regulations.

In a “trend to improve seriousness,” the fines per violation rose last summer from $30 to $500 for a first violation, $100 to $750 for a second violation and $500 to $750 for a third violation, according to Ames Fire Inspector John Dethrow.

The City of Ames must inspect greek housing and residential areas, while the State of Iowa Fire Marshal’s Office is in charge of inspecting Iowa State’s residence halls and other university buildings.

Dethrow’s particular area of inspection is the Iowa State greek system.

He said fraternity and sorority houses have some unique fire hazards, including the age of the structures and the number of occupants the houses can safely hold.

During an inspection, Dethrow looks for functioning smoke detectors with extra batteries, lit exit lights with extra bulbs, working emergency lights, fully charged fire extinguishers on every floor, closed stairwell doors, repaired windows and handrails on stairs.

Mike Fry, housing inspector for the City of Ames, inspects Ames residential areas, including the houses and apartments of off-campus students. Fry said in his off-campus inspections he checks mainly for the maintenance of alarms and extinguishers.

During inspections, Dethrow said he usually deals with the sorority and fraternity house managers.

He said it is the house manager’s attitude that determines the condition and maintenance of the house.

“The house manager makes or breaks the house,” he said.

If codes are being violated, Dethrow said the fraternity or sorority has 30 days to comply or it must pay a fine.

“Once a house has to pay a fine that large, it gets their attention,” Dethrow said.

Fry said off-campus residents are allowed two to three weeks to take care of fire hazards.

Dethrow said it is not always easy to enforce safety precautions when his inspections are not taken seriously.

“There is a lack of concern for their own well-being,” he said. “But you have to save their lives despite their unwillingness.”

Harry Aller, house manager of Theta Xi, 315 Welch Ave., agreed with Dethrow.

“When we heard the fire inspector was coming, we got hot on it. But otherwise, we don’t give it much thought,” he said.

Aller said sometimes members are not as careful as they should be when it comes to taking the proper fire precautions.

“If an alarm is making a beeping sound, some people just pull out the battery,” he said.

However, the house is “forced to comply” with fire codes by the inspector and the fines he may impose, Aller said.

“I hammer ’em pretty good,” he said.

One of the most important fire safety devices is a smoke detector, which both Dethrow and Fry highly advocate using.

“Smoke detectors are the best thing that’s ever happened as far as life safety in America,” Dethrow said.

Before the City of Ames sends Dethrow to inspect the greek houses, a memo with fire code information is mailed to the house members.

Making sure all greek house members understand fire safety also is recommended in the memo. It states residents should practice a fire safety drill, and their performance should be documented.

The code also lists certain practices that are prohibited, such as burning candles and using extension cords.

Dethrow said extension cords are particularly dangerous because they may cause a smoldering wire problem in the wall if they overload the breaker.

Cigarettes are blamed for the largest percentage of fires each year, Dethrow said. He said smoking is not allowed in ISU sorority houses, but it presents danger to fraternity house members and off-campus residents, especially during parties.

Dethrow said a fire at a Chapel Hill, N.C., fraternity resulted in five deaths when a cigarette thrown in the trash caught fire during an all-night party.

“Smoking is the largest cause of fires that we go to,” said Clint Petersen, deputy chief of operations for the Ames Fire Department. “We had a fire fatality last year that was probably caused by smoking.”